Sikh group wants to ban turbans and beards for Halloween

Walmart, the American retail behemoth, and Rite Aid, America’s third largest drugstore chain, have bowed to pressure and pulled a “turban and beard” costume design from their shelves this Halloween season. The costume was pulled after a group called the Sikh Coalition demanded that retailers stop selling the cheap, amusingly tacky garb.

The Sikh Coalition, which describes itself as a community-based human rights organization, asserted on Friday that the costumes “insult those who lost loved ones during the 9/11 attacks and insult American troops who sacrificed their lives in our nation’s war against Al Qaeda.”

The group said the costumes also further “stereotypes about turbans and beards that lead to violence against Sikhs and other minorities.”

Walmart and Rite Aid responded within hours by announcing the removal of the items from their shelves and online store.

Sears will also stop selling the costume.

The Sikh Coalition is generally satisfied with the outcome of the kerfuffle.

“This is like selling a Hitler costume,” analogized Rajdeep Singh, the Coalition’s director of law and policy. “Businesses have a legal right to sell offensive items, but they also have a moral responsibility to use good judgment and common sense. We are thankful to Walmart and RiteAid [sic] for promptly removing these items and hope other sellers will follow their example.”

The last paragraph of the Sikh Coalition’s press release urges “all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly.”

The fearful decisions by the brass at Walmart, Sears and Rite Aid to embargo the “turban and beard” costumes comes a little over a week after Columbia University professor Prabhjot Singh was allegedly brutally beaten and slurred as “Osama” by unknown assailants in New York City.

Prabhjot Singh is Sikh and wears a turban as well as an impressive beard.

Sikhs share no affiliation with Al-Qaeda or Islam.

The Sikh Coalition also contacted Amazon, but has failed to convince the web giant as of Tuesday.

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About Brian Fulmer

Brian is the owner of Crossroads Property Management Inc. (www.crossroadsproperty.com) He writes six blogs and has written two books. He also works with various missions around the world. His first love is Guatemala.